Oswald Cobblepot (Batman 1966 TV Series)
| Last = | Death = | HistoryText = Overview The Penguin was an arch-criminal hailing from Gotham City, a constant foe of Batman and Robin. Criminal Career Fancying himself an "aristocrat of crookery", the Penguin often took pride in opposing the forces of law and order - most of all Batman and Robin. Several times over his life, the Penguin went even further in perverting the law, pretending to be a reformed citizen and disguising his criminal enterprises as law-abiding businesses. "Partnership" with Batman One of the Penguin's most ingenious plots ironically came about when the Penguin was unable to think up a new crime - a great distress to him, as he was soon due to be released from prison. Soon, however, he found a solution to his dilemma: tricking Batman into planning his next heist. Thus, shortly after he was paroled, the Penguin opened an umbrella shop and began to deposit bizarre (and dangerous) umbrellas around Gotham. These umbrellas quickly attracted attention from Batman and Robin, who reasoned that they were clues hinting at the details of the Penguin's next heist. In actuality, there was no pre-planned crime behind the umbrellas; the Penguin expected Batman's keen mind to deduce a meaning from the meaningless clues and thus create the blueprint to a crime, which would be recorded by a microphone hidden in one of the umbrellas. Though the Penguin carefully hid his true intent, his plan was not foolproof; Batman initially failed to deduce anything from the umbrellas, and chose instead to don his civilian identity of Bruce Wayne and infiltrate the Penguin's umbrella shop. When the Penguin discovered his newest "customer" attempting to plant a listening device, he - not recognizing Bruce Wayne - accused the man of being a corporate spy and ordered him killed. Fortunately for all parties, Wayne escaped from the shop alive; as Batman, he returned to investigating the mysterious umbrellas, and eventually deduced that the Penguin intended to kidnap actress Dawn Robbins. Through his hidden microphone, the Penguin heard Batman detail exactly how the kidnapping would probably be executed, as well as how it could be foiled. With this information, the Penguin successfully kidnapped Robbins, humiliating Batman and Robin in the process. After the kidnapping, the Penguin quickly worked out a large ransom with Robbins' agents, to be delivered at a neutral ground: Wayne Manor. Subsequently, Batman and Robin planned an ambush at the exchange site, intending to hide in the suits of armor that normally stood by Wayne Manor's foyer; to the Penguin's glee, these plans were once again transmitted through the hidden microphone. On the day of the exchange, the Penguin arrived at Wayne Manor, sprayed the two suits of armor with knockout gas, and departed with the ransom. Unbeknownst to him, however, Batman and Robin had discovered his microphone shortly after Robbins' kidnapping; their talk of ambush had been a feint, and the armor had contained dummies. The real Dynamic Duo followed the Penguin back to his hideout, where, after a spectacular battle, the Penguin was apprehended once more. | Powers = The Penguin possessed no superhuman capabilities. | Abilities = The Penguin was capable of some hand-to-hand combat, and was often quick to seize any advantage during a fight. | Strength = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = * Trick Umbrellas: The Penguin was infamous for using umbrellas of all shapes and sizes in his crimes. These umbrellas would invariably contain some hidden gadget to assist their owner in his schemes. ** Monster Umbrella: An umbrella the size of a small building, launched from a special pad on the roof of the Penguin's "legitimate" umbrella shop. ** Bat-Brella: A colorful but otherwise ordinary-looking umbrella that hung from the handle of the Monster Umbrella. Secretly contained a microphone in its handle. | Transportation = * Penguin-Sub | Weapons = | Notes = Behind the Scenes The Penguin was played by American actor Burgess Meredith, who was perhaps best known for his various roles on the original version of The Twilight Zone (most famously as Henry Bemis in "Time Enough At Last"). Prior to Burgess, the producers of Batman had offered actor Spencer Tracy the role of the Penguin. Tracy allegedly stated that he would agree to the role on the condition that his character would be allowed to kill Batman in the show's final episode; when the show's producers refused, Tracy passed up the part. According to the notes of series producer William Dozier, by the time the first of the Penguin episodes - "Fine Feathered Finks" and "The Penguin's A Jinx" - had been written, the part of the Penguin had been designated to actor Mickey Rooney. Rooney's other projects at the time, however, led to scheduling conflicts that ultimately resulted in Meredith getting the role. In later years, Dozier would state that Meredith's Penguin was his favorite of the show's villains. Over the run of the show, Meredith's performance would create many of the Penguin's most famous characteristics. The character's "waugh waugh" laugh, for instance, was invented by Meredith himself to cover up the cough that smoking the character's trademark cigarettes gave him (in reality, Meredith had quit smoking decades ago). Meredith also gave the character a "waddle" style of walking, which he stated had been inspired by Charlie Chaplin's famed "Tramp" character. According to one account, Meredith's Penguin was such a popular character that the producers of Batman made sure to keep on hand at least one script featuring the Penguin at all times, just in case Meredith had a clear spot in his schedule. On his role as the Penguin, Meredith himself once stated: "I did Batman for two reasons, one of which was salary. The other was that, after its first few episodes, Batman became the in-thing to do. Everybody including Frank Sinatra would either play a villain or appear as himself in that cameo showcase where a celebrity would poke his head through the window of a building that Batman and Robin were climbing. I even remember Otto Preminger saying to me, "My god, My son won't speak to me unless I get a job on Batman" Eventually, he got in! Actually, we didn't get as much money from the show as you might think, although we were paid decent money for the feature film version. The main impetus to continue appearing on Batman - beyond the desire to get some T.V. work - was that it was fashionable." References in Other Media The 1966 Batman's version of the Penguin continues to be remembered and beloved by thousands today, and as such, has been referenced in several other works: * Shortly after he had filmed his final episode on Batman, Burgess Meredith "reprised" his role as the Penguin on The Monkees, briefly appearing as one of the nightclub guests in the episode "The Monkees Blow Their Minds". * The Simpsons episode "The Falcon and the D'ohman" featured a brief appearance from the Penguin, who is shown as one of the many opponents in Wayne Slater's combat training. Here, the Penguin is seen accompanied by two henchmen in bowler hats and T-shirts printed with their names - an explicit reference to Meredith's Penguin. | Trivia = * According to the episode "Fine Feathered Finks", the Penguin has a hideaway stationed in Alaska. | Marvel = | Wikipedia = | Links = }} Category:1966 Character Debuts Category:Identity Unknown Category:Politicians